


Bad Ending(?)

by hxshidan



Series: Aren't we strangers? [1]
Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: Based on Zen's first bad ending, F/M, Initial one-sided attraction, Kidnapping, Needles, there are hints of MC/other RFA members if you squint
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-25
Updated: 2016-12-12
Packaged: 2018-08-17 07:19:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8135158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hxshidan/pseuds/hxshidan
Summary: You indifference towards Zen had led to his possessive side coming out. Now you're his 'princess'... And you have no idea how things are going to turn out.





	1. You'd only gone to visit...

**Author's Note:**

> I want all the endings now that I've gone through all of the routes and got the good endings/after endings/secret endings.... So I ended up getting Zen's first one last night;;;  
> I don't like being indifferent to him, but... hah... I saw potential in where it could go as a fic.

You were frantic as you tried to open the text message feature of the RFA messenger app, and your fingers were somewhat shaking as you tapped on Jaehee’s name.

‘ _Zen’s a bit… possessive… I don’t think that he wants me to leave...’_

‘ _I tried to act indifferent in the chatrooms towards him because we are still, in a way, strangers...’_

‘ _We’ve only known each other a week...’_

‘ _And now...’_

‘ _God…’_

‘ _He’_ _s already going about calling me pet names like ‘cute princess’ and saying that I’m “just his type” and… I’m kind of worried...’_

You couldn’t type any more after that, pulling your knees up to your chest as you lay on your side. The most that you could do… was hope that Jaehee was able to notice those messages and let Jumin know exactly what has happened.

God, how you were going to _kill_ Jumin at the party… If he hadn’t have said that he was going to send you to visit Zen, then perhaps… You and Zen could have been quite good friends.

Never had you expected him to be so _possessive._

Thank god Zen said that you could sleep in the spare room he had… You weren’t sure if you could hold back panicking or lashing out if you had to even sleep in the same room as him. Unfortunately, this was the only room besides the bathroom which didn’t have a window to leave through. If you honestly could have, you would have got out of here after the two hours that Jumin had requested for you to visit, ran over to Jumin’s driver, and left.

To make matters worse, you were _only_ expecting to be made to visit for those two hours. You had no other clothes with you (they were all at Rika’s apartment), and your phone was running low on power, and you didn’t have the charger.

A sudden notification sound from your phone rang out as you contemplated just _what_ you were going to do, and you could only hope that it was Jaehee responding to your texts.

‘ _You okay in there, princess~?’_

Ugh.

You ignored the message and closed your eyes, hoping that you could fall asleep, and wake up to find yourself back at Rika’s apartment, joking about with Seven over the messenger and through the CCTV, rolling your eyes at Jumin’s obsession with cats, sympathising with Jaehee, attempting to encourage Yoosung into studying, and… supporting Zen’s career from a neutral standpoint.

Tears began pouring down your face at that moment, and you never even noticed the door open as that happened.

Zen noticed the redness of your face and the way in which your phone was held almost reassuringly against your chest. He didn’t want to see you in such a state whatsoever, so silently, he approached the bed which you were lying on with a slight limp because of the cast on his leg, before resting his hand on your knee.

You flinched at the feeling of his cold fingers against your skin, and it made you began to cry even more.

“Hey… What’s the matter?”

The words on your tongue fail to match those in your mind. “I- I’m fine… It’s nothing… I’m just stupidly emotional right now...”

He genuinely is concerned for you, you can read that on his face, but you still can’t help but feel worse knowing that.

Now another message came through on your phone. It was Jaehee this time.

‘ _Well… Don’t think too much into it, okay?… Zen wouldn’t do anything which would end up as a scandal._ _Also, he has lived on his own for a long time… Maybe he just needs the company. You can go home soon, I promise ^^’_

How you hoped that Jaehee was right… For the time being, you lay all of your hopes into those words.

Before you knew it, Zen was sat on the bed and now had his fingers laced between yours. “Why don’t I show you something? It always calms me down when I feel somewhat emotional… It could help you too.”

A few minutes later, you had been led onto the building’s roof. Zen was remaining fixed to your side, meaning that there wasn’t much chance for you to even let out a few more of the urges to just cry without worrying him further.

Damn… _Zen made you so conflicted!_

“The stars… Don’t they look nice?...” Zen had began speaking, so you thought that you might as well listen to him for a while. “I always like to look at them when things keep getting to me. Especially on a clear night such as this...” Before you knew it, he was stood behind you, and you were caught in a somewhat tight embrace. “But you look so much nicer than the stars...”

You could feel the knots in your stomach tighten as he said that. Were you meant to like that, because it was a complement… Or were you supposed to hate it, because he wasn’t wanting you to leave?

Either way, your eyes were fixed on the stars. You weren’t going to look at him, not at least for now...

“Hmm… You still look very upset...” Now his finger was stroking your cheek. Were you… meant to feel uncomfortable with that? “I think that I should keep an eye on you until you’ve calmed down… Come on. Let’s go to sleep...”

* * *

‘ _She’s not been in the chatroom for two days… I’m a bit worried.’_

‘ _Yeah;; I miss having her about, she’s the only one who jokes about with me...’_

‘ _I’m constantly dying in lolol because of how often i’m checking to see if she’s online!’_

‘… _Zen hasn’t been online either. Have you noticed that? I send her to his house, and he decides to keep her for himself!’_

‘ _707, is there any way for you to trace her phone? Or Zen’s for that matter?’_

‘ _I guess I could, but...’_

‘ _DO IT, SEVEN;;;;;’_

‘ _Fine, fine… Let God Seven do his work then!’_

_-707 has left the chatroom-_

‘… _God, I should have taken her messages more seriously than I did...’_

‘ _She messaged you, assistant Kang?’_

‘ _!!!’_

‘ _Yes… She was saying that Zen didn’t seem to be wanting to let her leave, that he was being somewhat possessive, and calling her by pet names… I thought that it was simply to do with Zen having lived on his own for so long, and making the most of finally having company.’_

‘ _Don’t worry, Jaehee! I would have thought the same, to be honest...’_

‘ _Hmm.’_

_-707 has entered the chatroom-_

‘ _I don’t think her phone has power. It disconnected from any sort of service two nights ago from Zen’s location. Zen is with her though. I checked some CCTV near his apartment and noticed that he took her out with him to do some shopping by the looks of things a few minutes ago.’_

‘ _She is safe?… Good… I am going to go now that I know that.’_

_-Jaehee Kang has left the chatroom-_

‘ _Assistant Kang just ran out of the office. That is concerning, she has a lot of work to do. I must follow her.’_

_-Jumin Han has left the chatroom-_

‘ _Uh… That was sudden...’_

‘ _I think Jaehee’s just a bit worried...’_

‘ _Maaaaybe. Who knows? It’s not like I can hack her head… It’s a shame she’s not a robot;;’_

* * *

Three days since you were brought here. Two days since your phone ran out of power. One day until the party.

Zen had decided for you that, seeming as your very few belongings were still at Rika’s apartment, you were both to go out shopping for things such as clothes. For the past few days because of that… You’ve had no choice _but_ to wear some of his shirts whilst your one outfit was being washed.

“I say that you would look adorable in this~ We’d match too!” Zen grinned as he showed you a white sleeveless dress which seemed to go down to your knees. There was a black trim to it too… God… “Come on, try it on for me, princess~” You hold back a gulp as he took hold of your hand, and placed the dress over your wrist. “Don’t make me have to drag you to the changing room!” He was obviously joking as he said that, but it couldn’t help but make you feel nervous.

“Give… Give me five minutes...” You whisper, before quickly rushing off into the closest changing room with the dress which Zen wanted you to try on. As soon as you closed the door, you looked around the cubicle. In the hand not holding the dress, you had a bag of things which Zen had bought you – a new phone charger included. You needed to plug it in and get a tiny bit of power in your phone as soon as possible.

“Just… tell me when you’re done, yeah?” Zen’s voice called out from the other side of the door as you quietly rummaged through the bag. “I need to see my princess in that dress, after all!”

You nod, before realising that he was never able to see the action. “Yeah… I will...” Once you had spoke, you had found your new charger, and pulled your phone out of your pocket. This was your only hope to contact the others… At least to let them know that you’re okay.

Once you were assured that your phone was charging, you glanced at the dress which Zen was wanting you to try on. It was… definitely pretty… and nicer than the other three he had asked for you to try on… You took your precious time to get changed after that, watching as the number on your phone’s screen slowly increased.

About seven minutes had passed by the time you had got into the dress (you were scared at how he had managed to get your dress size with a simple guess), and you ended up taking a deep sigh as you looked in the mirror. God… As much as you didn’t want to admit it right now, he was right. You did look… good… and you did match with his typical outfit…

As soon as you stepped outside the cubicle, you heard a loud gasp, and felt your arms be taken hold of. “Wow… So beautiful!” Zen’s shining red eyes were scanning all over your body, quite literally _everywhere._ “I would want to kiss you, but… You seem somewhat uncomfortable around me still. Don’t worry though babe, you’ll get used to my love soon.”

Soon… God, how long would ‘soon’ happen to be?

“I… think that we should leave the clothes shopping at that now… You’ve already promised to buy me quite a few pieces of clothing, and… I don’t think it will go down with your fans too well, seeing you buy clothes for an unknown woman,” you whisper, before waiting for him to let go of your arms so that you could get back into your normal clothes.

Back inside the changing room, your phone had just got to 11% power. Stalling was helping in the process of giving it a chance to charge…

Silently, you went and picked up your phone, and were surprised at the sudden text which came through. You could hear a sudden startled noise from just outside, so you presumed that Zen had heard the text notification too.

“Uh… babe, you okay?...”

“I’m...” You quickly turned your phone onto silent. “I’m fine. Maybe there’s just somebody nearby using their phone...”

“Maybe. Anyway, you should be quick at getting changed, we need to buy food for tonight’s meal after we pay for your new clothes~”

You gulp as you open the text.

It was Seven.

‘ _AH! YOU HAVE RETURNED! GOD SEVEN HAS MISSED YOU!’_

‘ _In other words… I’ve been waiting to see if your number appeared again as having service… Everyone has, actually.’_

‘ _ **Especially**_ _Jaehee.’_

You had to stop yourself from tearing up as you read the texts… Everyone had been worried about you…

‘ _Seven, I’m going to log into the messenger for two minutes, okay? I need to be quick...’_

You have to multi-task now. Getting changed whilst logging into the messenger… Fun. As soon as the messenger turned on, you noticed that Seven had logged in at the exact same time, and Yoosung happened to be there too.

‘ _AH! YOU’RE SAFE;;;;’_

‘ _GOD SEVEN IS SO HAPPY, FOR HIS MOST LOYAL DISCIPLE HAS RETURNED!!!’_

‘ _Hey, Yoosung, Seven...’_

You pull the dress over your head, before reaching out for your normal clothes as you watched the next few messages appear.

‘ _We’ve been so worried… Jaehee’s been acting strangely since you disappeared for a few days...’_

‘ _Mmmhm.’_

‘ _Zen… hasn’t hurt you, has he?...’_

You pulled your sweater over your head as you grab hold of your phone.

‘ _He hasn’t hurt me… He’s just being quite possessive… Hah, I’m not even being allowed to return to Rika’s apartment to get my things_ _on my own_ _, so he’s bought me replacement stuff...’_

‘ _Including a phone charger?’_

‘ _Yup. I’m using it now whilst I’m meant to be getting changed… He wanted me to try on a dress to wear to the party tomorrow...’_

‘ _Oh yeah! The party tomorrow!!! We’re going to get to see you then!’_

‘ _You bet, Yoosung~’_

You could hear Zen knocking on the door once you sent that message, before biting your lip. It would be a bad idea to leave him waiting for too long. Knowing Zen, he probably would try to open the door to see if you were okay if you were too long.

‘ _I have to go… See you all tomorrow...’_

‘ _Yeah, see you then, my loyal disciple!’_

‘ _All hail god seven lolololol’_

‘ _Bye!’_

‘ _See you soon, Yoosung.’_

You sighed as you finished pulling your boots back on, before then turning your phone off and unplugging your charger. Your only reassurance right now is that at least Yoosung and Seven knew that you were okay.

As soon as you stepped outside, Zen pulled you into a sudden hug. “Ah, finally back to normal...” He was whispering into your hair. “I love you, my princess...”

Princess… God, you were going to have to get used to being called that, weren’t you?


	2. Party time...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your friends can tell that Zen likes you... But with the exception of Jumin and Jaehee, they can't pick up your slight fear of him…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOOP WOOP I MADE TOTALLY STUPID REFERENCES TO STUFF THIS CHAPTER-  
> And this is a totally serious fic. I just, uh... noticed my chance and took it…

‘ _I can’t wait to see you all at the party ^^’_

‘ _lololol yeah, zen’s the only one who has seen you in person’_

‘ _Same here! We get to_ _ **finally**_ _meet tomorrow!’_

‘ _Just as long as you stay by my side the whole time, princess~’_

You gulp as you glance over to where Zen was ‘reading a script’ on the sofa as you put your phone down briefly, just to stir the onions which you were frying. God, if that didn’t show to everyone that Zen was being somewhat possessive, then what could?

In all honesty, you wished that something more had happened the night before last when Echo Girl decided to visit. As soon as Zen had pulled you over to the door, she left without another word spoken. Couldn’t she have… acted over dramatic or something?

Once the onions were stirred, you picked up your phone once more.

‘ _So… Uh… Zen… Do you like her?’_

‘ _Of course~ I love her so much~’_

‘ _Awww, so cute!’_

Silently, you clenched your fist. Yoosung was going along on Zen’s side here?

‘… _Zen. I wish to speak to her privately tomorrow… Would you allow her to separate from you just for that?’_

‘ _Well… I guess so. I can trust you Jaehee. Seven, Jumin, or Yoosung… Perhaps not as much.’_

‘ _GOD SEVEN ZERO SEVEN IS VERY DISAPPOINTED IN YOU.’_

‘ _Yeah! So am I! I wouldn’t take your girl from you, Zen!’_

Angrily, you close the app, and go back to the onions. They were starting to burn to the bottom of the frying pan, so you groan and try to chip it off. By that point, Zen had noticed the way in which you had suddenly turned frustrated. You had never even noticed him come up behind you until he reached around you and turned off the heat and took hold of your hands. “Babe… Calm down. Leave that. Maybe, so that we can get some rest for the party, we can just order food in.”

That, in all honesty, pissed you off even more. Why had he _not_ suggested that _earlier?!_

“Fine. Fine then.”

“What’s the matter? You don’t seem too happy...” Zen turned you around, and you were now leaning against the kitchen counter. It was uncomfortable to say the least. “Are you…?”

You stare at him, completely unamused. “No.” After that, you try to reach behind you to grab hold of your phone, but he beats you to it. “Come on… I’m just emotional like I have been for the past few nights! Now give me my phone back...”

“Only when you tell me what food you want me to order~”

“Fried chicken.” You then snatch your phone back, and go to sit down on the sofa just as a text message came through.

‘ _Loyal disciple of god seven, I bet you’re bored at zen’s so i’ve downloaded some games onto your phone that I made lolololol’_

You grinned then, quite relieved that Seven still had your side... somewhat. You text your thanks, before deciding to open up one of the games which had started downloading pretty much the moment you had received the text.

One of them seemed like one of those silly games that would become popular in a matter of days, but then have all of the hype die down just as quickly. You liked the name of the game too. ‘Crappy bird’. You never noticed Zen grinning at the way in which you were aggressively tapping your phone screen as he ordered your food.

For that matter, you never noticed Zen sit next to you a few minutes later _or_ him putting his arm over your shoulders, you were that engrossed in the game.

After a while, you had unlocked a few different features in the game. For example – there were RFA birds. A Yoosung bird which had a gaming headset on, a Jumin bird which had a cat following it, a Jaehee bird with glasses and coffee, a Seven bird with red hair and glasses, a V bird with sunglasses, a bird based on _you_ which had your hair and a phone, a bird which you presumed was based on Rika which had green eyes and blonde hair… and there was one last bird based on Zen, with his hair and eyes.

It was when you unlocked the Zen bird that you became almost hypersensitive to his breath on your neck, forehead leaning on your hair, and arm behind you. That made you flinch, and drop your phone almost with a scream.

“Princess! Are you okay?!”

“...I’m fine. I never noticed you there.”

“Are you sure-?”

Never had you been so _thankful_ for the door to be knocked at that exact moment.

* * *

Uncomfortable wasn’t even the word to describe how you felt.

Zen had took it upon himself to make sure that you looked perfect for the party, or, in his words, ‘ _like the princess which you truly_ _ar_ _e’._ He allowed you to put your dress on in privacy, but he said that he wanted to be the one who made any sort of adjustments to it. On top of that, he had decided to apply your make-up for you, do your hair, and he even became all cheesy and decided to put your shoes (which could basically be described as slippers) on your feet for you.

“God… It’s so hard!” You heard him groan as he straightened out some creases from your dress. You couldn’t tell if he was talking about the tasks he was trying to accomplish, or if he was just being flat-out lewd. “You’re so adorable, it’s hard to stop the beast from awakening!”

“… Save the awakenings for when you need to save the world from destruction or dragons, Zen.”

“Oh! That was the basis of a play I starred in a few years ago! I played the dashing prince who possessed a legendary sword and emblem to-!”

“Zen. I played the game which the play was based on on my Nimtendo a few years ago. I know what happens,” you huffed as you sat down, before pulling out your phone to play on one of the other games which Seven had installed for you.

“You know, they tried to get me to star in the next set of plays based on that same series, though I declined because there were three different versions… Apparently my hair and eye colour match that of the main character?” Zen stated as you noticed him grab a hair brush and begin pulling it through your hair. “I turned it down though. Because that was when you entered my life~”

A small kiss was planted on the top of your head when he put the brush down, and you couldn’t help but… cringe.

Zen seemed to back away after that, to make sure that he could properly get ready before the ride which Jumin was sending over arrived. It honestly felt like a breath of fresh air, to be cliché.

It gave you an opportunity to lie down on the bed which you had slept on for the past few days, and for the first time, it felt very welcoming and comfortable. You then began to wonder if the other RFA members would be like that when you finally get to meet in about an hour’s time.

You had almost fell asleep by the time which Zen had returned to you to say that your ride was there. As you sat up, you noticed that Zen had clenched his chest. “G- God, you look so cute half-asleep… It’s so hard to stop the beast from taking over, and delaying our arrival to the party!” You winced at those words as you stood up and rubbed your eyes, and quickly made your way out of the room before this so-called ‘beast’ really could come out.

At least you would be somewhat safe soon, with the other RFA members being at the party…

* * *

 

“I’m sorry… I don’t think we’ll be able to let you return to Rika’s apartment,” was one of the first things which Seven had said to you once you had met him, Yoosung, and Jaehee at the party. “Yesterday… A hacker got into the special security system there, and changing all of the algorithms behind it. Whenever I fix them, they just get altered once more. And… we don’t think it’s a good idea to send anyone there. It could change at any time...”

“Wh- what do you mean?! I need to get all of my princess’ stuff-!”

“The special security system is _a bomb._ It is meant to set off if intruders go in, but the hacker keeps changing intruders to RFA members, or just _anyone._ They could change it just as you get there, and… _**boom!**_ ”

You turned pale at hearing that. You couldn’t recover any of your stuff… you couldn’t return to the apartment… So that meant…

_You had basically been condoned to stay with Zen for the time being. Maybe even permanently._

Jaehee noticed the way in which you seemed to back away slowly, so she asked Zen if she could take you elsewhere just to sit down and calm down just for a few minutes, because she knew that Zen was likely to trust her with you. It was a relief when he said that she could, because she grabbed hold of your wrist and pulled you away as fast as she could. “There’s some people that I believe that you should meet...” She brought you over to a booth table in the room, which could easily be sealed off from the rest of the room by large curtains which it had hung up around it. There, two people were sat opposite each other, one seemingly impatient whilst the other was particularly calm. “I’ve managed to get her away from Zen for a few minutes so that you can talk to her. I think she needs a bit of a rest anyway...”

One of the men, who had his elbows on the table and chin resting in his hands, making him look as though he was trying to get some sort of business deal, glanced over to you and smiled. “Ah. Thank you, assistant Kang,” You recognised the richness to that voice.

“You’re… Jumin.”

“Smart. I see that spending four days with Zen has not affected your intelligence.”

The other man sighed, but he seemed somewhat unfamiliar. However… You noticed the sunglasses and cane which he had, and there was only one person you had heard of to do with the RFA possessing such items. “And… you’re V.” He nodded, before shifting across his seat a slight bit and tapping the seat beside him.

“Just for a moment… I want to see you. My vision is close to non-existent… and I would like to see the one who brought hope back to everyone else in the RFA.”

“This is why you should have had the surgery-!”

“Jumin… Please, not today.” V stated, before he pulled the sunglasses off his face. His eyes seemed to be of a similar colour to his hair, but almost… watered down. “I just want to see you for a moment, that’s all.” Seeing the look on his face made you do as V had asked, and you sat down beside him whilst Jaehee took a seat beside Jumin. “You’re wearing white… And you smell sweet. I am guessing that Hyun chose your outfit and perfume for you?”

You nod, before remembering that such an action probably wasn’t such a good idea when communicating with somebody close to blindness. “Yes… And he sorted my hair out, did all of my make-up, put my shoes on for me, and even chose the jewellery I’m wearing...”

V nodded, before turning to Jumin. “Hyun… really likes her.”

“Yes. He is being possessive though.” Jumin was once more leaning on his hands. “I want to take her to my penthouse where it is safe from Zen.” You try to put your own opinion into this, and so does Jaehee and V, but you can’t seem to stop Jumin from speaking. “I simply think that it is in her best interests to be somewhere which is secure and sane. That, and she could keep Elizabeth company if she so wishes.”

Unfortunately, that’s a flaw in Jumin’s plan… and a similarity which you share with Zen.

“I… think that’s a bad idea… I actually, uh… have the same allergies as Zen...”

You see Jaehee flinch a bit in her seat, and Jumin’s eyebrow rose just before your eyes were covered. “Ah, that might be a sign that my babe is just perfect for me then~”

“ _Shit...”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh...   
> God.  
>  ~~Okay but the first time I saw Zen, I stared at him for a moment and thought "he has the same hair and eye colour as Corrin" and that led to me thinking "what if he starred in a play as Chrom" in turn making two really bad Fire Emblem references so just kill me now.~~


	3. Friends and a peace of mind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One event from the party, and what happened that evening gave you the reassurance that you had friends, and gave you a confidence you never possessed before.

“We need to have a conversation… alone… woman to woman. You can understand that, right?” You stated, perhaps the most confident you had been since that fateful day you ended up at Zen’s house. “There’s just… some things only we can talk about.”

You notice Zen awkwardly take a slight step back whilst wincing, before he nodded, allowing you to go off to find where Jaehee had gone off to. On your own. For the first time since you met him.

First, you came across Yoosung, before telling him not to say that you went in that direction if Zen eventually decided to look for you. Following that, you bumped into Seven and V, and asked if they noticed where Jaehee had ventured off to after the revelation that you shared allergies with Zen. They said that she had gone off to near the doors to the ballroom. You were actually slightly relieved when Jumin approached you, saying that Jaehee was also seeking you out by the doors.

Two minutes later, you found your fellow female RFA member, and you felt relieved to be pulled into what felt like a friendly hug by her. “You finally got a break… That’s good...” she whispered into your hair, before pulling apart and reaching into a bag which she had with her. “Seeming as Zen isn’t here… I want to give you this.” She pulled out a purse, and placed it into your hand. “I know that you are somewhat uneasy with Zen. It’s understandable, we are all essentially strangers to you, and he has had an almost spontaneous attraction to you. If it ever becomes too much, I want you to use what is in this purse. Myself and Mr Han got all of this together during the scare when your phone had no power and when we couldn’t contact Zen. V also put something in there before after we had explained your situation to him, but I’m not sure what.”

You looked at the purse, and bit your lip. “Jaehee… I...” You honestly didn’t know what to say. They were looking out for you, which was surprising considering that you were a stranger, and it made you feel so touched.

“You will find a few different things in there. First, there is a key and an address attached to it. That is where I live, if you need to go somewhere local quickly,” she stated, before she placed a hand on your shoulder. “Also, there is an address and a 10-character code, as well as a message on what to say to security. That can get you into Mr Han’s penthouse if, say, you are too scared to be near Zen if he becomes a bit too possessive.” She then glanced around to make sure that Zen wasn’t nearby, just so she knew whether she should keep explaining or not. “There are four other addresses in there. One is Yoosung’s address; one is a location where, if you contact 707 at an earlier point, he will meet you if you also want the security such as that at Mr Han’s penthouse; one is the C&R building if you just want to go to myself or Mr Han… And the last address is where V lives.”

You are bawling in tears by that point, hugging Jaehee tightly. People who were essentially strangers had gone to such lengths to make sure that you felt safe.

“I have to admit… It is odd seeing Zen so attached to somebody in the way he has done to you… But I hope that it is simply just a phase, and that he will eventually realise that this is unhealthy. Perhaps you may not even need what is in there. I sincerely hope-” She stopped speaking then, before putting on what seemed to be something like a forced smile. Zen had managed to seek you out, so presumably, you had been gone for a while. But seeing Zen now… You felt more comfortable because of the purse which was in your hand. “Ah. Zen… Hello. I’m sorry for keeping her for so long… You can have her back now.”

* * *

‘ _Thank you, everyone… The party… was wonderful. You all worked so hard to organise it in such a short amount of time, and you could tell.’_

‘ _Now, we all know that it was thanks to our new member! ^^’_

‘ _I agree, Yoosung. She worked so hard, despite the… situations which came up.’_

‘ _Situations? What do you mean by that, Jumin?’_

_-ZEN has entered the chatroom-_

‘ _Zen. He is all of the ‘situations’.’_

‘ _Uh... Jumin...;;’_

‘… _Jerk.’_

‘ _Jumin, please… Don’t be like this. At least today… We should be celebrating that we were able to hold another party.’_

‘ _No disrespect V, but Zen has caused situation after situation just because of his_ _ **one-sided attraction to our new member.’**_

‘ _You jerk… You absolute jerk.’_

* * *

“Liar, he’s a jerk and a **liar!** ” You winced as you noticed that Zen was staring at his phone, teeth gritted and fist clenched. The most that you could do was sit on the sofa and hold onto your phone and the purse which Jaehee had given you. After a few more moments, Zen had put his phone down, and was looking at you. “Don’t talk to Jumin. Promise me. If he’s in the chatroom, don’t go onto it. If he texts or calls you, don’t answer. Please… for me.”

For a moment, you look up at him in confusion, but decide not to question it. The calls you could ignore. It was easy enough to change Jumin’s text ringtone. Plus your phone has a pattern lock screen, so unless Zen knew the pattern, he wasn’t going to be able to go into it.

“You… Look as though you need to take a moment to calm down, Zen...” This uncomfortable confidence when talking to Zen was… so weird. “Why don’t you go to bed early? Today was quite busy...” The only reason why you could talk to him like this was because of Jaehee’s words. It may just be a phase. “I could make you a drink of tea or coffee if you want.”

His red eyes seemed somewhat dull as he met your glance, before he gave you a rather sweet smile. “Thank you… I’d like that,” he whispered, before walking over to you and sitting down beside you. “I’ll have to make it up to you tomorrow. Anything you want… within reason, I guess.”

Quickly you made your way into the kitchen, before heating up the water at the same time as unlocking your phone. You had to make a few calls whilst you waited. First port of call… Was Yoosung. Not because you were scared, but rather you just wanted to see if he were okay. You had spoke to him the least today, so you just wanted to know how he was doing, and whether it would be worth investing in a game such as LOLOL in the future, because… reasons.

As he always was in the chatroom, the youngest RFA member was cheerful and bright, and speaking to him made you smile wider than you thought was humanly possible. He was also overjoyed that you were considering playing LOLOL, and said that if you ever did decide to start playing, he would guide you around everywhere and tell you what to do, if needed. He also proposed taking Seven down from his spot as number one player in the server together, something which compelled you even more into wanting to play the game simply as a hobby.

After that, you called Seven… just to ask if it was definite that you couldn’t return to Rika’s apartment for your belongings which had been abandoned there. Once he had reaffirmed that, you were silent for a moment. Then you told him of Yoosung’s plans to take him down, and you seemed to lose some of his attention after that. You could only presume that Seven was hacking into Yoosung’s game account, or he was logging into his own.

Then… You got an unexpected phone call.

“ _Hello.”_

You blinked for a moment, before you were able to put on a smile. “Hello, V… I never thought that you would end up calling me...” It was true. Not in a million years were you expecting the leader of the RFA to call you out of the blue at this time of night. “Don’t tell me – you found out that I was making Zen a cup of tea, and you’re coming around for one too?” you joked, before you began searching around the cupboards to see if the tea which Zen had bought merely the day before was there.

A quiet laugh was heard from the other end of the phone, before a sigh. “ _No, that isn’t the case. I was wanting to find out if Hyun was okay after the argument he had with Jumin on the chatroom… I decided not to call him because I feel that mentioning Jumin will make the situation worse.”_

“Well… I’ve been banned by Zen from talking to Jumin in any way, shape, or form, if that says anything… Not that it will stop me.” You muttered as you opened the fridge and noticed that the tea had been placed in there, alongside a bag of rice. “What the hell...”

“ _That…_ _Doesn’t sound good. If I could, I would try and organise something together with the two of them to try and fix things between them… But I doubt that would work.”_ V sounded very concerned about his two friends. “ _That and my vision could be lost completely any day now. I can’t risk going outside too much, I don’t want to cause too many problems for everyone by having them worry over me.”_

You bit your lip, before gasping. “V… I have an idea. I could try and talk to Zen and Jumin together somewhere on your behalf… Zen won’t let me leave his sight for too long, but he is able to restrain his temper with Jumin in my presence.”

“So… _You are saying that you will act like a voice of reason or a peacemaker if they meet up?”_

“Yes… And I’m sure that if I say that I was doing it for you, they would be more willing to listen.” You had finished making two drinks of tea by that point, and you had your phone held to your ear by your shoulder as you held onto the two cups. “After the party today… It would be horrible to see the members fall apart almost instantly afterwards.”

A brief moment passed where you heard V trying to gather his words, obviously thinking that it was best to change the conversation. _“The… The party. That reminds me… Did you like it? I am sorry if I acted a bit strange when we met up there, that was because of my sight…”_

“Oh! I liked it a lot! It was nice to meet some of the people who I had only spoke to over email… Even though Zen made me keep the conversations with the men to a minimum.” You awkwardly laughed then, before walking back over to the sofa from the kitchen. Your awkward laugh became a slight giggle at the sight of Zen sleeping, his hand on the floor and a slight trail of drool down his mouth. “Hah… Keeping me away from all of them must have made him tired. He has fell asleep on the sofa. He’s still wearing his clothes from the party too.”

“ _Ha… So much for the drink of tea.”_

“Yep...”

“ _So, uh… Does the offer for me to have a drink of tea still stand?”_ V then joked, making your laughter continue to fill up the apartment. “ _I’ll try and call you tomorrow to see if I can sort out a date for us to get Zen and Jumin to meet and make amends with one another. Good night.”_

“Night, V...”

V… was a nice person. You could see why Zen trusted him and held him in high regard. You could see why Jumin wanted to be a friend with him from childhood. Why Seven saw him as somebody who he could say anything to. Why Yoosung, despite the lack of some trust, still acknowledged why people liked him. Why Jaehee was able to speak to him confidently, and not as uptight as she normally would happen to be.

It felt nice to speak to somebody who you could just… be honest with.

Letting your phone drop onto the floor, not really caring about damage because of the case on it, you placed the cups down on the table and prodded Zen’s arm for a moment. “You… You have a drink, Zen...”

He remained asleep.

With a sigh, you then went and made a venture which you never thought that you would ever make. You went into his room, took hold of a pillow and some sheets from his bed, before taking them back over to the sofa. You knew that he quite liked the jacket he was wearing (he had spent about an hour explaining why that morning), so you gently took it off him and put it somewhere safe, before putting the pillow under his head and throwing the blankets over him.

“… G’night, Zen...” You muttered in your half-asleep daze, before you picked up your phone and drink, and retreating to the room which you were sleeping in.

What went completely unnoticed was the slight glance Zen had given you as you walked away, and the gentle smile as his arm stretched out from under to blankets to take hold of his tea. “Night to you too… Thanks for the drink...”


	4. Illness (part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You've come down ill... Zen doesn't know how to deal with it.

“Hello… Is the director there?” You were lying on the sofa with a multitude of thick blankets as you watched Zen pace back and forth across the room. “Yes, it’s Zen. Can I speak to him?” His forehead was creased and a frown was present on his face as he waited for a response. “Ah! Director, I’m sorry that I couldn’t be there today… Yes, I’ll be there for Thursday’s rehearsal, I promise… Why I couldn’t come today? My babe has fell ill, I need to look after her… I’m so sorry.”

As you forced your arm out from underneath the sheets just to grab hold of a tissue to blow your nose, you could see Zen bite his lip. Moments later, he hung up the call and placed his phone down.

At the moment, you were quite ill. It had started off with you feeling somewhat dizzy just before you took a shower. When you mentioned it, Zen had instantly ordered for you take a cool bath instead. Reluctantly, you agreed. For all that you knew, the heat of the evaporating water could have made you pass out. Following that, your nose had began to run, and so you were stuck by a box of tissues. Zen had already had to go out and buy (quite a lot of) replacement boxes.

From there, things became worse.

You were quick to end up with a migraine right behind your left eye, and anything bright aggravated it (Zen wasn’t sure about whether he should have complained that he didn’t make it any worse or not), so the room was plunged into darkness. Then the cold sweats came out, and in turn, so did the blankets. Then everything you had ate since that morning came up. Zen did not like having to clean it up, but because you could hardly move due to a sudden wave of fatigue, it was impossible to get you to the bathroom.

Because you didn’t have the same healing speeds as Zen, you knew that you were basically bound to the sofa for the next few days, unless Zen carried you to bed. Zen wasn’t used with having to deal with these sorts of things either, because all of this would have passed over in about half a day if it were him who happened to be ill.

“Keep drinking your water, okay? You need to keep hydrated. The worst possible thing is dehydration. And if you can, try to eat, even if it’s just little amounts. It’ll make it a whole lot worse feeling ill on an empty stomach… apparently,” Zen mumbled, having picked up his phone after a text message came through. “It’s weird having to ask Jaehee on what to do to look after somebody when they’re ill...” He then put his phone away, before walking to behind the sofa and resting his hand on the top of your head. “G- God, you feel hot!”

All that you could do was mumble quietly, before adjusting the way in which you were lying. This sofa was highly uncomfortable…

Once you did that though, you grew to regret it the second that you found yourself having to cover your mouth.

“Oh god, not again!”

* * *

“Please… _somebody help me… I can’t cope! I don’t know how to look after somebody who is ill!”_

“ _It’s your fault, Zen. You were the one who insisted that she lived with you. If it weren’t for her allergy, I would have got her immediate medical care at my penthouse, and helped to put her at ease.”_

“ _OH, AND_ _ **MY EXACT SAME ALLERGY**_ _DOESN’T MATTER?”_

“ _Mr Han! Zen! Stop this fighting right now!”_

“ _Assistant Kang, do you not have documents to file?”_

“ _I’ve finished that job.”_

“… _Right.”_

**_-Jumin Han has left the chatroom-_ **

“ _Stupid trust fund jerk...”_

“ _Anyway, Zen, how is she?”_

“ _Throwing up everywhere and really pale;;”_

“ _Hmm… Do you mind if I go to visit as soon as I finish my work this evening, Zen? I may be able to help.”_

“ _Really?! Oh god, you’re a lifesaver, Jaehee!”_

“ _I’ll bring some medicine, and a few other things to help look after her. Just… try and keep her warm, and make sure that she eats and drinks. Especially if she has just been sick.”_

“ _God… speaking of her being sick, I’ve got to go...”_

_-_ _**ZEN has left the chatroom-** _

“ _I had better finish this work quickly...”_

* * *

“Mr Han. These are the final documents which need your signature, and then we are officially caught up with all of the work from when we were at the party.” Jaehee placed a few pieces of paper on Jumin’s desk, before sighing. Knowing that one of the other RFA members was ill was having a direct impact upon her work, and she was desperate to leave and help to look after you. And to make sure that you weren’t still feeling stressed over having Zen decide for you that you were his girlfriend and that you were going to live with him.

“Is that so… Because the last time that I checked, a shopping list is most definitely a document which needs my signature.” Jumin was frowning as he picked up the top piece of paper, and held it out. “Hmm… You are going to be visiting _him_ so that you can help to look after her, aren’t you? This is what this list is for, isn’t it?”

Jaehee’s eyes grew wide, before she quickly took hold of the list and nodded. “My apologies, Mr Han-!”

“No. Do not apologise.” He stood up, before reaching for his phone and frowning. “I would much rather have our party planner’s care in your hands than Zen’s, so this is something which I will be willing to allow you to take a short paid leave for.” Surprise filled Jaehee’s face at the mention of paid leave. This was something _very_ unlike Jumin… But then again, he was doing it to spite Zen. “And I can cover the costs of everything on this list if this is to do with her care. Hmm… Would this amount suffice?” He showed his phone’s screen to Jaehee, and in addition to surprise, her face turned pale.

_That was a **lot** of 0s_

“M- Mr Han… Are you… Are you sure?!”

“As sure as can be. Yoosung is currently on a semester break, so I can ask him to take your place for a few days. He needs to take some time away from his video games, and I am _this_ close to calling his mother.”

“God… Thank you, Mr Han. I will make sure that she gets better as fast as she can.”

* * *

You were now in bed and asleep, and it was a brief moment of relief for Zen. He had took it as an opportunity to have a drink, and god, was he making the most of it. He just wasn’t expecting to hear a frantic knock on the door to disturb his break a few minutes later. “Hey! Hey! Zen! Zenny! Zen! Zen!”

Oh, he knew that voice… unfortunately.

“Damn it, Seven...” He mumbled, before throwing the door open. “Shut up, will you?! She’s literally just fell asleep, and I don’t want to wake her up!” Zen then stepped back to let Seven enter his apartment. “What are you even doing here?!”

“Oh… Did I not tell you? I thought I sent a text… Guess I didn’t.” He sighed, before waving a bag in his hand about. “I come bearing a gift for her!”

“A gift for her? What is it?”

“Aha! A hacker never reveals!”

“Then get out of my apartment.”

“Aww, you’re mean, Zen… I was just going to say that I was finally able to get access to Rika’s apartment for a few minutes, because I was able to block the hacker’s IP address from accessing the special security system algorithms temporarily! I’ve got all of her stuff from the apartment, and I thought that, y’know, with her being ill… She’d want some of this stuff. Home comforts and all that?… I… I guess?...” Seven then handed the bag over to Zen, before grinning. “Oh yeah… I also think it’ll be worth mentioning this. I got into the systems at C&R just so I could keep an eye on Jaehee’s work hours a few weeks ago… I kinda don’t want her to end up being overworked by Jumin like I am my agency, you know? Well… My phone came up with a strange update a few minutes ago. She’s been given four paid days off… and a transaction of a few thousand dollars went into her bank accounts _directly from Jumin’s.”_

“God, the jerk actually has some humanity?! Who knew.” Zen went and opened the door to your room, and he glanced at your weak but sleeping figure upon the bed. “Unless he has some sort of ulterior motive.” Your belongings were placed by the foot of the bed.

Seven raised an eyebrow at the whole ‘ulterior motive’ remark. At this moment in time, that was quite hypocritical coming from Zen, considering that he was essentially controlling the general things which happened in your life just because he wanted to keep you with him so that he could show you that he loved you.

Once Zen closed the door once more just as the door knocked once more, and he sighed. _What was it with people invading his house at the exact wrong time?_ Out of frustration, the door was threw open once more, but he wasn’t expecting to see Jaehee stood there.

“Hello, Zen. Oh, and Luciel. I hope that I am not intruding anything here...” She sighed, pulling her glasses off her face. “I have managed to get a few days off work to assist in looking after our friend. Mr Han wants to make Yoosung take a break from his games and assist him whilst I am here.”

“ _JESUS, WHAT THE HELL IS UP WITH THAT JERK?! HE’S ACTING MORE AND MORE HUMAN!”_ Zen suddenly yelled, before running his hands through his hair. “Has somebody drugged him or something?! My god...”

Little did Zen know was that his yell had woke you up, and the pain and heaviness throughout your body was enough to bring you to tears. The crying had caught everybody else’s attention though, and you never noticed the three of them enter the room because of the way in which you were huddled up into the blankets.

“God Seven does not approve of this! My disciple, I grant you the healing powers of the oh so mysterious, supposedly handsome musical actor Zen!” You only became aware of the three of them because of Seven yelling… that. It was enough to make you laugh quietly, but that just led to a coughing fit.

“Luciel, quieten down…” That voice felt reassuring to you, and even though it was simply just a voice, it helped to ease your headache somewhat. “Zen, if you want, take a short break. I’ll look after her for now, don’t you worry.”

God… You were thankful beyond belief for the existence of Jaehee.

That helped you feel better just a tiny bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This... is actually kinda based on how it feels like when I get my migraines and also how I feel atm with whatever this stupid illness I have is.  
> Ugh.


	5. Illness (part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Medicine tastes disgusting to you, as does something else.

“Come on… Take the medicine, babe...” Zen was pouting as he sat beside you on the bed, before putting his arm over your shoulder as he helped you to sit up. “You wouldn’t act like this if Jaehee were here… Please...” He then gave you a worried look, and that was followed by a sudden kiss to your forehead. “I beg of you, please… It’s hurting everyone seeing you ill. God, me and Jumin have actually been having civilised conversations because of our worry! Jaehee looks as though she’s losing sleep worrying over you, and I was lucky enough to get her to fall asleep on the sofa! Yoosung calls whenever he’s not in class to see if you’re okay, and Seven has been repeatedly sending me texts for updates on your condition! Even V came around to visit this morning when you were asleep despite him being blind now, just to know if you were recovering...”

You have to force yourself to glance at Zen for a moment, and then whimper slightly. “I don’t like the medicine… It tastes horrible and I feel like choking when I swallow it...” You paused, before you started crying. “I really do want to get better, I don’t like being stuck here… But I just can’t have that medicine…”

Zen gave you a look of genuine concern then, before sighing. “I’ll see if Jaehee brought some other medicine then… Give me a few moments.

Once he had left the room, you used all of the energy which you had to reach out for your phone on the bedside table. There were so many missed messages and calls from the other RFA members… You could see why Zen was so upset over how stubborn you were to have the medicine. Unfortunately, even though your phone’s screen was on the lowest brightness setting, it felt very bright for you still, so you had to put it back without being able to reply to anything.

Once a few minutes had passed, Zen returned. “Sorry… there’s no other medicine. When Jaehee wakes up, I’m sure that she could help me find some medicine which you can have and we can ask Yoosung to help look after you… But for now, you’ll have to take this… I’m so sorry...” He sat back down, and then turned your head so that you were facing him. “Princess… Take this, and I’ll give you something which means a lot to me...”

You reluctantly took the medicine out of his hands, before reaching out for a glass of water which was nearby just to wash down the horrible taste which you knew was coming.

As expected, you began to wretch somewhat as soon as you swallowed the medicine, but Zen made sure to get you to drink as much water as you could without choking even more.

After you had caught your breath, Zen began to stroke his thumb across your cheek. “I’m so glad that you did that...” He then began to smile at you. “I love you, princess...” Suddenly, his forehead was pressed against yours. _Oh no… He wasn’t wanting to…_ “I’ve waited long enough to do this….”

_Oh shit. He was._

* * *

“Careful! You’re not better yet, you can’t be on your feet for too long without somebody with you!” Yoosung shouted as you dragged yourself over to the kitchen for something to eat. Zen and Jaehee had gone out, and as Zen had promised, the youngest RFA member was now looking after you. “What are you doing?”

You gave Yoosung a weary look before grabbing hold of the fridge door to see if there was anything that you could eat. “I need to get these tastes out of my mouth… It’s making me feel horrible...” After that, you were caught by Yoosung as you fell to your knees.

“I tell you what… sit on that chair there, and I’ll make you a small portion of omurice… It should help get rid of the bad taste,” Yoosung sighed, before using his free arm to pull a nearby chair from the table out. “It is the medicine that tastes bad, isn’t it? I remember my parents trying to make me have the same medicine whenever I was ill a few years ago, and they had to bribe me with my favourite food to take it.”

_Well, at least you weren’t the only one who hated the taste._

“Zen bribed me to take the medicine...” You went and rested your head on the table then, before shivering slightly. “He said that he would give me something which ‘means a lot’ to him… I thought he meant that he would do something like give me a blanket or something that he’s had for years...” Yoosung was giving you quite the worried look then. Perhaps you could have worded what you said better, but… It was a bit late now. “He ended up kissing me… He’s been drinking a lot though and the taste of alcohol made me feel even worse… And I don’t want him to do anything like kissing me...”

Silence lingered in the air for god knows how long after that, but you did eventually end up falling asleep where you were. Yoosung sighed, before snapping a quick photo and sending it to Zen and Jaehee with the caption ‘ _She woke up after something to eat. I’m making her something small to eat now, and then I’ll get her to go back to bed if you’re_ _not_ _back before then.’_

Once the omurice Yoosung had made you was finished, he ended up shaking you awake. “Hey… I’ve promised that I’ll take you back to bed when you’ve ate, but don’t make it feel as though I’m rushing you, okay?” He pushed the plate over to you, before sitting down across the table. “But whilst Zen isn’t here… You’re really not comfortable living with him, are you?”

You shook your head as you ended up forcing yourself into taking a small mouthful of your food.

_Yoosung was actually quite good at cooking._

“As soon as you’re well again, if you ever want to… You can stay at my place every so often! I can tidy it up if you ever do want to visit, and if you want, you could try out some of my games!” Yoosung was grinning then, before gasping. “You mentioned a few weeks ago about wanting to try out LOLOL, right? If I remember correctly, if somebody signs up for it saying that a particular user recommended the game to them, both people get some cool rewards, like exclusive armour and weapons! It’d be so cool if we could play together with all of that stuff!” His eyes were shining. God, you were lucky for there being somebody so light-hearted with you for the first time in a while. “We could team up against Seven! Imagine, the two of us beating the number 1 character in the Shooting Star server and taking the top spot for ourselves!” It was hard to hold back a giggle at Yoosung’s enthusiasm, but hearing the door open was enough of a prompt to hold it back.

Even though the portion size of omurice which Yoosung had made for you was about the size of the palm of your hand, and though you had only eaten half of it, you began to fee the taste in your mouth once more from the kiss just through the sight of Zen walking over to you. That was enough to instantly put you off eating the rest of it.

“Yoosung… Thanks for looking after my princess. Really, I mean it...” You could feel his hand resting on the top of your head, and you could tell that he was stood behind you. That gave you the opportunity to mouth something over to the blonde quickly.

‘ _I wish I was feeling better.’_

“Hey, babe, you want me to put that in the fridge so that you can finish it later? You… look really tired,” Zen mumbled, ruffling your hair slightly. “I tell you what… I’m sure that Jaehee can help you to bed whilst I do that.”

* * *

‘ _God… As soon as you left the room with her, Jaehee... Zen looked pretty annoyed;;’_

‘ _What do you mean, Yoosung? He was thankful that you had looked after her when we returned.’_

‘ _He apparently heard her giggling at something I had said when you walked in… He seemed a bit annoyed because apparently she’s never giggled for him like that… I’ve never seen Zen like this before...’_

‘ _Really? I’ve heard that love changes people, but… This love really is seeming one-sided now, and Zen is becoming particularly… controlling.’_

‘ _You don’t think… She’ll, you know… Get that thing? Like where prisoners actually start liking being with their captors after a while?’_

‘ _Stockholm Syndrome? I hope not… I’d rather the two of them get to know and like each other on mutual footing, not under a situation such as this.’_

‘ _I tell you what though, I’m glad that we’re talking over texts, Jaehee… If we had said all of this over the chatroom, no doubt Zen would have shut her off from us completely for a while.’_

‘ _He already has done that with Mr Han… He forced her to refrain from making contact with him, but after a conversation with V, he has just about allowed the two of them to text now.’_

‘ _Really?!’_

‘ _Yes… Mr Han was quite annoyed over that.’_

‘ _You know… I wish we could get her a place of her own, rather than have her stay with Zen. According to Seven, she was just going between the houses of friends and family  and sometimes she was on the street before she ended up at Rika’s apartment...’_

‘… _Maybe we should talk about this with her, and everyone else in the RFA… besides Zen, that is.’_

‘ _Agreed! New quest unlocked: get our new member away from Zen and in a house of her own!’_

‘ _Yoosung, this is not an RPG.’_

‘… _Do you know more about video games than you let on, Jaehee?’_

‘… _Mr Han invested in a company which makes video games with cats in. They have RPG cat games, visual novel cat games, and even shooter games where all of the characters are cats._ _If I remember… There was even an otome game called ‘Meow-stic Meow-ssenger’… That means_ _I’ve had no choice but to look into video games recently...’_

‘ _lololololol’_

‘… _I need to see if I can get her to go and take some more medicine now. Goodbye, Yoosung.’_

‘ _See you later, Jaehee~ Oh! But see if Jumin can get a version of lolol with cats in! Seven would l o v e him for that!_ _And let’s chat later about our mission with the others!’_


	6. Intruder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After there is a secret RFA meeting regarding Zen's behaviour, revelations about it come to light, thanks to an unwelcomed guest.

**Confidential RFA document – Only for the eyes and ears of Jihyun Kim, Luciel Choi, Jumin Han, Jaehee Kang, and Yoosung Kim.**

**Topic of discussion:** The changes in RFA member Hyun Ryu, alias ZEN, in regards to the newest member.

In an emergency RFA meeting on the date xx-xx-20xx, it has been unanimously amongst members not directly involved in the matter that the behaviour of member Hyun Ryu has become unacceptable over the past few weeks.

 Initially, the newest member of the RFA was sent to his residence by member Jumin Han following Hyun’s ankle being sprained and having to be kept in a cast with the primary intention being to have her persuade him to do modelling for Jumin’s new cat-related project within his company. Hyun was quick to dismiss Jumin’s driver, and made the new member remain at his apartment.

Since then, she has been forbidden from leaving the apartment without the company of Hyun himself, and at times where he is not present, she is locked inside the apartment or made to go with him. The only exception to this was at a time where she was ill, and was cared for by member Yoosung Kim whilst Hyun went to procure medicine alongside member Jaehee Kang.

Attempts at relocating the new member have been made, but have all been prevented by Hyun.

Also, other scenarios displaying his new possessive behaviour have occurred, including:

  * Very minimal time allowed away from him at the RFA party
  * The temporary ban on contact with Jumin Han
  * Current ban on contact with Yoosung Kim
  * Frequent checks over her messages and emails before she is permitted to read them
  * Personal excursions with the new member, even at times where privacy is required (e.g. visits to the bathroom)
  * Deletion of the RFA messenger from her phone (Luciel Choi has since re-downloaded the application)
  * Threats to forcibly remove and destroy her phone.



It has also been decided by RFA leader Jihyun Kim that if such behaviour is to be continued, various sanctions shall have to be put into place for Hyun, including:

  * Temporary block on the RFA messenger (Recommended)
  * Contact made with employers, directors, and possibly also the police on a last resort
  * The new member forcibly removed from his apartment, and relocated to a safehouse – The penthouse of Jumin Han or the house of Luciel Choi (Recommended)
  * Removal from the RFA



After contact was made between Luciel Choi and the new member in secret over an encrypted communication line not accessible to Hyun, it has been decided that one month shall be given for Hyun to make changes to his behaviour before the sanctions are enforced. If his behaviour takes a sudden turn, and becomes worse, the new member possesses a purse given to her by Jaehee Kang containing the keys, passwords, and addresses of the other members, and she shall attempt to escape and make her way to one of them as soon as possible.

* * *

Zen was away at a studio for a television musical which he was working on, so you had been locked inside his apartment. Due to his semi-celebrity status, the windows had been replaced at some point with bullet proof, unbreakable windows so that was completely out of the question to get out through. Not to mention that they were all locked with a key which Zen had only one copy of, and also happened to be with him. The front door was locked, so you couldn’t get out through that. The door to the roof was also locked, so that was out of the question.

Plus… he had _your_ phone with _him._ You couldn’t even pass the time by messing about on the messenger! He wasn’t wanting you to talk to Yoosung after the whole ‘you giggled for him, why not for me?’ situation, so that was the primary reason why.

The only things which you could really do was make food to eat, watch television, or sleep. It was _boring._ He didn’t even have a computer here, unlike Rika’s apartment!

_For that matter, you’d much rather be stuck with the bomb at Rika’s apartment, with the risk of being taken by the hacker rather than stay here._

The only reassurance which you had was that the other RFA members, V included, had a secret meeting regarding this the day before, and had come up with different plans on things to do if Zen continued to keep you stuck in his apartment and kept your life as it currently was.

Slowly, you reached out for the television remote, and turned it on just to see if anything was going on in the world which you were kind of being kept away from. You were just nonchalantly flicking through the channels until you ended up on a news one, which strangely enough caught your interest.

“ _Breaking news! Chairman Han of company C &R has separated from his most recent girlfriend, Glam Choi, after she attempted to enforce a marriage between his son, Jumin Han, and her sister, Sarah Choi. Chairman Han, Glam Choi, and Sarah Choi have all neglected to comment, but we managed to get a few words out of Jumin Han himself!”_

Hearing Jumin’s name, you rose an eyebrow, before sitting up on the sofa and paying a slight bit more attention to what was being said.

“ _Jumin Han! What do you have to say on the matter surrounding the arranged marriage and your father’s break-up?”_

You couldn’t help but take notice to what seemed to be dark circles under Jumin’s eyes when he appeared on the screen, and you bit your lip. He was worried about something, and losing a _lot_ of sleep by the looks of things.

“ _I have nothing to say other than that I knew something such as that would happen, with the way in which my father is surrounding his girlfriends. However, I cannot stay here and discuss my father or those women for much longer, I have important issues surrounding the RFA which I need to be dealing with right now.”_

_“The RFA? Isn’t that the charity organisation which you host parties in?”_

_“Ugh… Yes. It is. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to go and have a discussion with V.”_

_“Oh! You’re going to be visiting the famous blind photographer?!”_

_“Leave immediately before I send my security to have you escorted off C &R property.” _

Now _that_ seemed like normal Jumin.

A deep sigh escaped your lips when Jumin disappeared from the screen, before you gazed up at the ceiling. You actually wondered on as to whether Jumin was just going to be visiting V to persuade him to have the surgery which would restore his eyesight, or if it was genuinely a serious RFA matter which, due to Zen possessing your phone, you were completely unaware of?

It wasn’t too long before you found yourself closing your eyes through both boredom and tiredness, but your moment of peace was brought to a sudden halt by a loud thud against the front door. You gulped, before standing up just as there was another thud. Colour drained from your skin when it finally sank in that somebody was trying to break in with excessive force.

This wasn’t like when Zen’s fans tried to get in, because the knocking wasn’t as often and didn’t involve fangirl screaming… This was somebody else completely.

With your legs shaking beneath you, you went and took hold of an umbrella which was propped up by the door to the roof, before you went to stand near the front door. You were going to swing it at whoever was trying to get in if it wasn’t anybody which you knew. Deep down, you were hoping that it was Seven trying to talk to you… But you knew in your mind that it wouldn’t be. Seven would much rather try to find a way to hack himself in and then pick the lock.

After a few moments, the door finally gave way, and you felt your entire body grow numb when you noticed a strange man stood there with a smirk on his face. The umbrella in your hands dropped to the floor, and you couldn’t even scream for help. All that you knew was that _this was terrifying._

“So… It has been the actor who has kept you hidden from my sights this whole time…” The man muttered as he stepped inside, taking a glance around as you quivered. “I would have thought that you were stashed away with one of those two, but I guess not. But at least I have you now.” The tattoo on his arm absolutely terrified you, and his hair colour was so odd. This man was both scary and a threat…

Those words sent a shiver down your spine. This was somebody who was after you? That would have meant that…

“ _H- Hacker, y- you are th- the-!”_ You could hardly get your words out at anything more than a shaken whisper, but at least you were able to force your legs into moving.

As fast as you could, you ran towards the kitchen, aware that the purse which Jaehee had given you with addresses was stashed away in a drawer there. Tears were pouring down your face as your hands, now impossible to make stable, attempted to open the drawer. God, how you wished that Zen were actually here right now, how you wished that he could pull you into his arms to protect you…

_Wait, had Zen been keeping you here…  in order to protect you from threats such as the hacker?_

Once you had been able to grab hold of the purse, you felt something sharp dig into the top of your arm, making you shriek in pain and jump back. All colour had completely drained from your face when you turned around, and noticed the intruder stood there with a needle in his hand.

_He had injected you with something?!_

It’s obvious that he could see the sheer amount of panic in your face, so he _smiled_ and held out a hand, making it seem as though he intended for you to take it. “Relax… You’re going to be in paradise soon. You can be free from all of this soon… Let’s just give the tranquiliser a chance to kick in, shall we?”

**_Tranquiliser?!_ **

You did your best to walk backwards, but the most which you managed to do was knock cups, pans, and cutlery all over the floor and counter, smashing some as you went along.

Moments later, you slumped down against the fridge unconscious.

“The saviour will be so pleased that we finally have the new light of the RFA in our paradise soon… The others will be soon to follow.”

* * *

Zen was absolutely exhausted when he returned home, after having to put up with all sorts of nonsensical demands from Echo Girl throughout the entire rehearsal for the first major recording of the show. The first thing which he did before pulling out the keys to get through the front door was take out your phone, knowing just how eager you would be to use it for the first time since very early that morning. It was free of notifications, which was surprising for once. However, he smiled at that, as he knew that it meant that perhaps the other members of the RFA were easing off with their constant attempts to contact you.

His exhaustion was that much though, he failed to notice the large imprints and cracks in the door, because his attention was exclusively on your phone. He put his keys in, and ‘unlocked’ the door, not aware that it was already open from the hacker breaking in.

He then walked in, and ended up tripping over the umbrella which was on the floor. “Huh… I could have sworn that I had that by the roof for if I wanted to go up at night with my babe and it was raining…” He picked it up, and then propped it against a nearby wall as a grin formed on his face. “Babe~! I’m home!”

Silence was not the response he was expecting. Normally you would gasp, and come running over to him for your phone. But… That was odd. “Maybe she’s sleeping?” He checked on the sofa, and noticed that the television was switched on to the news. It was just repeating the previous news story about Jumin’s father, and all that Zen could do was sigh. “Maybe her room…”

Quickly, he walked to your room, and opened the door, expecting to see your sleeping figure underneath the blankets.

_Nothing._

“Babe…?”

Now he was getting worried.

Even faster, he then ran to the bathroom. Were you taking a shower?

_Nope._

Sprinting, Zen made his way over to the kitchen, wondering if you were too busy cooking something to have noticed his return or frantic searching for you.

He was met with a scene which he never would have thought of in a million years.

Smashed ceramic and pots were all over the counters and floor, some of which having a slight red tinge to them which weren’t normal, considering that they were all meant to be white. There was also a slight smear of red across the fridge door, and a choked sob formed at the back of his throat as he then looked up at the higher cupboards. A clear message in black paint had been written across them.

‘ _She has finally joined our paradise.’_

That was followed by what seemed to be an eye painted on, and by that point, Zen had fell to his knees after he had dropped your phone. It was a struggle for him to be able to pull out his own phone after that, just to take a picture of the scene in front of him.

His eyes were blurred and watery as he opened the messenger, and give off a loud cry of horror as everything sank in.

* * *

 

**_707:_ ** _Oh! Zen, it’s you~_

**_Yoosung:_ ** _Zen. Oh._

**_ZEN:_ ** _help…_

**_707:_ ** _Hmm?_

**_-ZEN has posted an image-_ **

**_ZEN:_ ** _ I tthink that thr hscker got inhere and took her… _

**_Yoosung:_ ** _That’s… a lot of typos, Zen._

**_Yoosung:_ ** _Wait, you think that the hacker has her?!_

**_707:_ ** _Shit! Zen, stay where you are, okay?! I’m coming over!_

_- **707 has left the chatroom-**_

**_ZEN:_ ** _Help… help help help… I was just trying to protect her from exactly this… help…….._

**_Yoosung:_ ** _You were trying to protect her from the hacker…?!_

**_ZEN:_ ** _yes… help…_

**_Yoosung:_ ** _God…_

_- **Yoosung has left the chatroom-**_

**_ZEN:_ ** _help…….._


	7. What is going on?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The RFA have gathered in Zen's apartment, the place where you were kidnapped from...  
> And you... Only the hacker knows about where you are now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've not updated this in a month to the day, so have an update...  
> A short one at that, but hey... still an update, right?

“Zen… You came home, and everything was like this?” Jaehee asked in a state of shock as she looked at the state of the apartment’s kitchen, before glancing at Zen, who still seemed to be somewhat shaken.

“Yeah…” He looked down at the floor and pulled his legs up onto the sofa as the other RFA members who were present – everybody but you (for obvious reasons), and V -  turned their collective attention over to him. “I was- I was just trying to protect her…”

“Keeping her under lock and key at your apartment isn’t exactly… ‘protecting’, Zen.” Seven sighed as he took a moment to glance at his phone. “But I’m wondering… What made you want to protect her in the first place?” Everybody nodded in agreement. Zen’s behaviour had been abnormal as of late, so they wanted some reason behind it.

Slowly, Zen’s hand reached into his pocket, before he pulled out the one thing of yours which was currently safe – your phone. “At first… I wanted her to stay with me for company. I liked being able to spend time with her, because her opinions gave me a different sort of… perspective on things.”

“Her neutrality?” Yoosung asked, sitting down next to the musical actor before offering him a bottle of water. He got a nod in response, before Zen sighed out loud.

“Plus… There was the bomb in Rika’s apartment. I wanted to keep her safe from that…”

Jumin frowned, before standing in front of Zen. “But why keep her away from myself and Yoosung?”

“Well… For you, it is because you’re a jerk.” Seven quickly had to jump up and get between Jumin and Zen then, because the amount of tension in the room suddenly went skyrocketing. “And Yoosung… Was because he was getting close to her when she was ill… But I was paranoid too. Just after she had fell ill, she asked me to put her phone on charge. And when I had left the room, she started getting messages from somebody called… ‘Unknown’. They all said things like ‘I will get you soon, and the RFA will crumble’, ‘don’t think that you can stay hidden from me’, and… ‘somebody close to you may be a traitor, and tell me where you are very soon.’ I was scared that Y- Yoosung was trying to get close to her b- because of-…”

Everyone remained silent after that, and exchanged horrified glances. Was somebody in the RFA a traitor, and working with this ‘Unknown’ person?

It took about five minutes for the silence to be broken, and it was by a worried looking Yoosung. “Hey… Not to sound… suspicious, or anything…” He looked between everyone, and bit his lip. “But… I don’t think anyone in this room would betray the RFA. And V… Even though I haven’t trusted him in a while, I don’t think that he would either. So… Who would betray her?”

Jumin rolled his eyes, before then pulling out his phone as it made a notification sound. “A scare tactic… It was trying to make _her_ paranoid, but it just made Zen worried instead.” He then typed something into it, and started tapping his foot. “And it seems as though V is wanting us all to meet up at his apartment to talk about something…”

* * *

You were in an absolute state of panic when you had woken up, and that had led to a horrible situation happening. You’d thrashed out at the hacker, seeming as he had hold of you, and had been able to elbow him in the ribs. Following that, you had stumbled down to the ground, seeming as you had been let go of when he had begun hunching over in pain.

Unfortunately, you were in a heavily wooded area, so the impact was quite painful. However, his phone had fell out of his pocket, and though your hands were tied, you grabbed hold of it and quickly tried to escape as fast as you could before the hacker could regain his energy. There were actually quite a few numbers on it, and that was quite a relief. But when you realised that it was your own number, and the numbers of the other RFA members and their places of work or schools, you felt almost sickened.

_Zen had your phone, didn’t he?_

Shaking, you went and pressed your own phone number just as you heard the hacker shouting, and saying that you couldn’t hide from him forever.

It rang. _Your phone had power, thank god!_

The call was never answered though… That may have been Zen over-reacting over somebody calling your phone behind that.

But then, you noticed one particular name in the contacts which surprised you. ‘The shitty leader of the RFA.’

  1. _He was likely to be the best person to contact now._



Quickly, you chose that contact in order to try and make contact with him. You felt like crying when the call was answered.

“ _Who is this?”_ He sounded worried, and also frustrated at the fact that he was getting a phone call from a supposed stranger.

“Help me… V, I need help!” Tears were pouring down your face as you whispered into the microphone, wary of the hacker getting closer to where you were hiding between a few trees. “I- I was taken from Zen’s ap- apartment by the hacker, a- and I’m so s- scared because I’m in the middle of nowhere! I’m terrified that- that he’s going to kill me!”

You heard your name be whispered, before V started speaking, a sound of franticness in his voice. “ _I heard a few minutes ago that you had been taken… This isn’t good at all. Apparently… Hyun’s absolutely broken, because he kept you hidden away to keep you away from the hacker, according to a message which I just received from Jumin.”_

“I- I’d rather be locked in Zen’s apartment for the rest of my l- life than be kidnapped…”

“ _By the way, how exactly did you manage to get my number…? It’s not that I’m not glad to talk to you, because I’m absolutely relieved that you’re alive… But how?”_

“I- I hurt the hacker a- and stole his phone… Your number was on it… **Everyone’s numbers were on it.”**

“ _… What does the hacker look like?”_

“I- I’m not sure, I’ve been just trying to get a- away from him, s- so-!” Suddenly, you felt an arm around your throat. You dropped the phone, and you could hear V trying to call out for you when you were made to stand up.

“Thought that you could get away from me, huh?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lmao it's too short;;;;;;  
> But I might be able to get a few updates out over the Chrismas holidays off school. I have a half day on Friday, so I finish at 12:30, then I'm off until the 3rd of January, I believe.   
> So that's time to write... Yay........
> 
> Though honestly school is stressful af and it's killing me mentally so if updates are slow, blame my teachers. ~~Especially one of my English Language and one of my Maths teachers.~~


End file.
